Seamwork Audrey denim jacket, v.2
2024-Feb-21, Wednesday 05:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chebeSeamwork's Audrey is a denim jacket you can sew without flat-felling seams. You've seen me make one before, but you know what makes everything better? That's right, purple.
Finding purple denim is a difficult thing to do. In this current fashion cycle it proved actually impossible. I've seen places over-dye blue denim with red, resulting in a very specific kind of purple. But I want real purple. Going back to basics that means getting white denim. Which was almost as difficult as sourcing purple until I discovered Organic Textile Company. I ordered 6m of Organic Cotton White Denim (Twill), 225gsm (roughly 8oz), which is considered medium weight (but I'd say light-medium). (The exact weight/colour combo I ordered isn't currently available but there are similar varieties.) And I'm not sure it strictly meets all the definitions of denim out there, but it is a twill and close enough that I'm satisfied.
Denim sourced. Time to dye it! Enter Dylon fabric dye for (front loading) machine use, in 30 Deep Violet. Each 350g pack does 600g of cotton/linen/viscose. Iirc I needed five packs for the whole six metres. Cue dyeing, washing, drying, ironing montage.
Last time I made a size 14. Which still fits, but is snug. I want something a bit oversized, so went with a size 18 for this version.
The pattern also has chest pocket flaps, but no actual chest pockets. This annoys me no end, so I'm adding them in this time. I basically doubled pattern piece C; front middle panel, but made one shorter. The two pieces will be sewn as one into the long seams with D and B. The 'pocket bag' version of C will continue up into the yoke seam (with piece A), but the outside piece will have the top double-folded and stitched, to leave a gap to access the pocket. The 'pocket bag' piece will have its bottom double-folded and stitched in place to the outside piece. Minimal effort pocket.
To spice things up a little I'm going to use some Andover, Beguiled, in Birch Black, 100% quilting cotton, for the underside side of the chest pocket flaps, and the underside of the collar. (This ran really badly during the pre-wash, so I'm hoping it doesn't completely wreck the purple denim in the wash.)
Other than that I increased the overlap of the folds of fabric in the welt pockets. The welt pockets on the last version ended up permanently gaping, and I'd used a contrasting fabric so it's very visible. This is also why I'm not using a contrasting pocket fabric this time around.
The pattern wants us to do double lines of top-stitching, to better imitate that flat-felled look, but I just did one again. Oh, I also used black thread throughout, for that slightly-more-subtle contrast stitching look.
I know there are supposedly gendered ways to place the buttons down your centre-fronts, but honestly I can't keep track. I'm right-handed, so I find it easier to operate buttons when the button-holes are on the right-hand side. Which is where I put them. I used eleven 17mm tack metal buttons in total (2 cuffs, 2 chest pockets, 7 centre-fronts). I'm not convinced by the quality of these particular buttons, as the flat part remains loose and jingles around. While at the same time the stems are easily deformed. Here's hoping they work out okay.
I am pleased to report that I didn't get the cuff buttons mixed up this time, the buttonholes are in the section of the simplified planket that goes over the other side, like they should be. Overall this has a comfortable fit through the chest and shoulders, with a fair bit of excess through the waist and hem. I was thinking of adding a bunch of patches to the jacket, but I haven't made up my mind yet.
And you know you've achieved 'proper' purple when it proves difficult to accurately photograph under indoor lighting. I've done my best but it's still coming up brighter, and more pink, than it is to the eye.
Finding purple denim is a difficult thing to do. In this current fashion cycle it proved actually impossible. I've seen places over-dye blue denim with red, resulting in a very specific kind of purple. But I want real purple. Going back to basics that means getting white denim. Which was almost as difficult as sourcing purple until I discovered Organic Textile Company. I ordered 6m of Organic Cotton White Denim (Twill), 225gsm (roughly 8oz), which is considered medium weight (but I'd say light-medium). (The exact weight/colour combo I ordered isn't currently available but there are similar varieties.) And I'm not sure it strictly meets all the definitions of denim out there, but it is a twill and close enough that I'm satisfied.
Denim sourced. Time to dye it! Enter Dylon fabric dye for (front loading) machine use, in 30 Deep Violet. Each 350g pack does 600g of cotton/linen/viscose. Iirc I needed five packs for the whole six metres. Cue dyeing, washing, drying, ironing montage.
Last time I made a size 14. Which still fits, but is snug. I want something a bit oversized, so went with a size 18 for this version.
The pattern also has chest pocket flaps, but no actual chest pockets. This annoys me no end, so I'm adding them in this time. I basically doubled pattern piece C; front middle panel, but made one shorter. The two pieces will be sewn as one into the long seams with D and B. The 'pocket bag' version of C will continue up into the yoke seam (with piece A), but the outside piece will have the top double-folded and stitched, to leave a gap to access the pocket. The 'pocket bag' piece will have its bottom double-folded and stitched in place to the outside piece. Minimal effort pocket.
To spice things up a little I'm going to use some Andover, Beguiled, in Birch Black, 100% quilting cotton, for the underside side of the chest pocket flaps, and the underside of the collar. (This ran really badly during the pre-wash, so I'm hoping it doesn't completely wreck the purple denim in the wash.)
Other than that I increased the overlap of the folds of fabric in the welt pockets. The welt pockets on the last version ended up permanently gaping, and I'd used a contrasting fabric so it's very visible. This is also why I'm not using a contrasting pocket fabric this time around.
The pattern wants us to do double lines of top-stitching, to better imitate that flat-felled look, but I just did one again. Oh, I also used black thread throughout, for that slightly-more-subtle contrast stitching look.
I know there are supposedly gendered ways to place the buttons down your centre-fronts, but honestly I can't keep track. I'm right-handed, so I find it easier to operate buttons when the button-holes are on the right-hand side. Which is where I put them. I used eleven 17mm tack metal buttons in total (2 cuffs, 2 chest pockets, 7 centre-fronts). I'm not convinced by the quality of these particular buttons, as the flat part remains loose and jingles around. While at the same time the stems are easily deformed. Here's hoping they work out okay.
I am pleased to report that I didn't get the cuff buttons mixed up this time, the buttonholes are in the section of the simplified planket that goes over the other side, like they should be. Overall this has a comfortable fit through the chest and shoulders, with a fair bit of excess through the waist and hem. I was thinking of adding a bunch of patches to the jacket, but I haven't made up my mind yet.
And you know you've achieved 'proper' purple when it proves difficult to accurately photograph under indoor lighting. I've done my best but it's still coming up brighter, and more pink, than it is to the eye.
Seamwork Audrey in purple denim, finished, back view
Photo by chebe
Seamwork Audrey in purple denim, finished, front view, with under fabric and pocket details showing
Photo by chebe
Seamwork Audrey in purple denim, finished, front view
Photo by chebe
